Coming Up Short
by Pink Eraser
Summary: Is it possible? Could a nonmagical, mugglebred human become a squib? What's the difference anyhow? The difference is: 'THEY'RE MUGGLES, ALBUS' marauder era: SnapeOC, JamesLily, LuciusNarcissa


A/N: Hey all! My second stab at a story, hopefully it'll go better than the first.Anyway, if you don't know The Werewolf Mage's stuff, I'm using three of her original characters: Gen, Marci, and Celeste.

They're just for the first chapter and maybe they'll come up somewhere along the way, but they're not going to be main characters, so don't worry if you don't know them. I'm going to keep to mostly characters in the books except for my little buddy Sammy.

Oh, and _Desperate Housewitch _is the brainchild of The Enchanted Teakettle.

Morosely Magicless

On the highest floor of Gryffindor tower, the four girls were unpacking for the year in their new seventh year dorms, chatting excitedly. Well, actually, only three of the four, Lily, Marci, and Celeste, were unpacking and chatting excitedly. The fourth, Gen was the one sitting cross-legged on a tall mountain of empty trunks, head in hands, staring listlessly at the issue of _Desperate Housewitch _in her lap.

"Awww, what's wrong Gen?" Celeste crooned sweetly, as she pulled a continuous flow of dresses and robes from her own trunks.

"Yeah, why aren't you unpacking Gwennie?" Lily asked curiously, watching the reams of clothing materializing next to Celeste with huge eyes.

"Because it's a waste of time…" Gen said distantly not looking up from her magazine. "Just use magic…"

"Bu– But! This is the only way we get to go through each other's stuff!" Lily sputtered, scandalized.

"And by now it's a tradition!" Celeste cried in outrage.

"We've done this every since we were ickle firsties, when we were ever so morosely magicless!"

"And this is the last time we'll ever have the opportunity!" Celeste sighed in turn.

"These are the last days we'll walk these halls!" Lily sighed theatrically, wiping a mock tear from her eye. Lily then threw her arms around Celeste and they both began sobbing dramatically.

"You're both prats, you know that?" Gen glared. "The only reason I ever have for not wasting my time is that I have better things to do with it!" Gen declared, jabbing her wand into the air self-righteously. Through no fault of her own, Lily's foot jerked, kicking one of the trunks from the base of Gen's mountain. Gen shrieked as she tumbled along with the avalanche of luggage, landing unceremoniously in Celeste's lap.

"- Which is really why we're asking." Celeste smirked triumphantly, looking at the issue of _Desperate Housewitch _still clutched tightly in Gen's hand. Celeste then turned her attention back to the low-necked red dress she had been charming a tear from, and held it up to Gen. "And you should really wear more red."

Gen got up indignantly, shooting a glare at Lily, who looked the picture of innocence. The dark-haired witch grumbled dangerously, stomping over to the bed Marci was leaning against, and flopping down. She pulled a Chocolate Frog out from the pocket of her jeans, whipping the card out first.

"Who did you get?" Marci asked, half-turning to see what card Gen had gotten.

"Like it matters…" Gen muttered, tossing the card aside. Marci lunged for it instantly, displaying a never-before-seen dexterity, seizing it greedily from the air.

"Not _another_ Dumbledore." Marci moaned, setting it down on the ground.

After unsuccessfully ignoring Lily and Celeste's blatant stares, Marci protested in vain. "What! You know I'm collecting the Wizard Cards. I only need Rowena Ravenclaw to have a complete set and then I qualify for the Chocolate Frog sweepstakes. I'm desperate!"

Lily grinned. "You've actually collected 77 Wizard Cards for that ridiculous contest? With a 'mystery prize' that's most likely the con of the century?"

Marci ignored Lily and continued to spell the wrinkles from a favorite blue silk blouse.

Gen started watching the frog in sit in her right hand until the thing leapt for its life, only to be mercilessly snatched from the air with the other hand, much in the manner of James and his snitch, but with more evil.

"Ah… Gen? You feeling alright?" Lily looked to Marci, who, as Gen's cousin, usually got the update first.

Marci made a face and crossed a finger across her neck.

Unfortunately, Celeste didn't seem to get the message.

"What is it _this_ time?" Celeste moaned, looking at Gen who was staring distantly at the squirming frog in her hand. "It seems like something's _always _wrong."

The frog leapt.

"You have a row with your Dad?"

Gen squashed it.

"Mum's been drinking?"

Leap.

"Is Sirius being a prat again?"

Squash.

"James being an unholy git?"

Leap.

"Did Lils do something?"

Squash.

"Then is it me?"

Leap.

"Marci?"

Squash.

"Did Peter creep you out again?"

Leap.

"It's not _Remus_ is it?" Celeste continued, earning horrified gasps from the other two girls, undaunted by Gen's fierce glares.

Squash.

The frog, now sufficiently flattened, shuddered and died, as Gen stuck it back in her pocket and grabbed the pillow from under her feet, flumphing into the pillow.

"It's none of you guys." Gen said calmly, and then bristling a moment later, yelled, "And it's none of your business either!" Lily and Celeste looked affronted, and the moody witch drew the curtains around her bed angrily, buried her face in the pillow once more and continued in a muffled voice, "I just don't feel like talking right now, okay?"

"Then, Gen would you mind if I told–" Marci started timidly.

"Mmmmmmmmmffff…" Gen said, deciding to sleep rather than fight the inevitable.

"She's out. So you can tell us. Now." Lily added, as Marci looked hesitant.

"It's sort of complicated…" Marci sighed, "You guys know Sammy, right?"

"Who?" Celeste asked.

"Gen's little brother?" Lily filled in quickly.

Marci stopped and stared at Celeste.

"Celeste, we grew up with him! How could you not remember and Lily –" Marci succumbed to hysterical laughter.

"Shut up! I just couldn't remember his name!" Celeste protested, face burning bright red.

"What about him?" Lily prompted.

"Oh right," Marci sobered, voice deadly serious, "You know how Gen can be sorta…"

"Bi-polar?" Celeste and Lily said at once.

Marci smiled weakly. "Well Sammy is a little bit too – only with this funny fixation on magic. He's one of those guys who would be obsessed with Lord of the Rings if he didn't know what a weird imitation of himself Dumbledore made Gandalf. Yeah, well, Sammy's kind of obsessed… he's read all of the Hogwarts textbooks, and he begs to Gen send him the Daily Prophet and anything else she can manage… It's really weird. He even gave Gen all this money to buy Dumbledore's complete works."

Lily blinked. "Dumbledore has a complete works?"

Marci shrugged. "I guess so. But he has this thing with magic, and now he's officially eleven, and he never had any accidental magic…"

"And letter lost in the mail?" Celeste made a soft sympathetic noise. "My dad went through a really hard time when he didn't get his letter. His family pretty much disowned him, and he turned muggle, which is what most Squibs end up doing, really. But Sammy's muggleborn, so it doesn't matter _that ­_much, I mean, does it?"

Marci made a face. "See, for everyone else, yeah, but Sammy is totally high-strung about it. His Mum and Dad were relieved, but they both had this huge fight, Sammy and Gen did. They ignored each other for a week after Gen got her Supply List, but I guess Sammy just exploded at her and…

_A week before…_

_Sammy crashed into Gen as he turned to head downstairs._

_  
"Watch it, would you? You almost knocked me down the stairs!" Gen cried, speaking for the first time in days._

"_Being a bit dramatic, aren't we Gwendolyn?" A short boy with straight black hair spat back._

"_No more dramatic than you and your –" Gen struggled for words and finally stopped to let out a shout of frustration. "Look, Sammy, I'm sorry that you didn't get accepted, but it's _not – my – fault_!" _

_Sammy scoffed. "Nothing ever is."_

"_How is this my fault? Just _tell_ me." Gen crossed her arms._

"_You show up here once a year, and you spend all your time talking about yourself –"_

"_You're constantly _begging_ me to! Pestering me about my _amazing_ life like it's some sort of –"_

"_That's just it! You're life is AMAZING!" Sammy shouted. "AND YOU DON'T CARE! You know how to do thousands of things that _millions_of people will _never_ be able to do! Ever! And you just take that for granted that you can deny the laws of physics with a wave of a stick! All you ever do is complain about your grades or whatever, or get all boy-crazy about all those stupid marauder people, and you –" Sammy was cut off as Gen took a step towards him menacingly.._

"_So what you're saying is that I am less of a person because I have friends, unlike you, that I am less of a person because I don't gaze in wonder at a wizard chess set, the way you are mystified by a radio! Are you saying that I am less of a person because I don't spend hours staring at my broomstick the way you go into an epileptic fit every time a car starts!" _

"_I'm not saying –"_

"_I figured you weren't."_

"_The thing is Gen, you don't listen to _anyone_ Not even yourself, though that's all you ever think about! Every other word that comes out of your mouth is 'I.' All you care about is yourself, and the travesty that you make your life out to be." Sammy stepped up to Gen, glaring up at her furiously, ignoring the two and a half foot height difference. "Well, _guess what_Gen! You're not the only one with problems! You're problems aren't the biggest or the most hopeless! You're just the one with the loudest, most irrational voice!" _

_Gen stopped for a moment, in shock. "Why can't you be _normal_? Lily's sister was _much_ easier to ignore. Why couldn't you make it easier for everyone and just accept the way things are?" She shouted hotly, fighting to ignore the stinging grain of truth in her brother's words. _

_Sammy drew back. At first Gen thought he was hurt, and was about to apologize, but in his eyes there was met only with pure defiance. "Yeah, Gen. I'm sure you'd like me to be a good little muggle and do what I'm told, and I'm doubly sure you'd rather have a mentally unstable girl like Petunia for a brother, but you've never been known for your taste." He spat venomously. "All _I _know is that I'd rather have a Lily any day. No one needs you and your bi-polar bitching!"_

_Sammy stormed back to his room, forgetting whatever it was he had wanted from downstairs, leaving Gen standing there. Gen ran her fingers through her hair. No matter which way she put it, her younger siblings' words still rang true. _

_Gen found herself angry, angrier than she could ever remember. All at once, she was furious with the entire world and nothing at all. Gen stomped into her room, packed her bags with fervor, and banged her trunks all the way down the stairs, and suddenly had a random dissaparation fit into the heart of London. _

_Gen had paused to shrink her trunks to pocket size and began calculating how long it would take before she had enough control and energy to apparate to Marci's. She was startled from her thoughts as a purple bus pulled abruptly in front of her. _

_The door opened to reveal a concerned looking busboy in a purple uniform. "You alright, Miss?" He asked innocently._

"_I didn't call for you, you know!" Gen glowered at the young man._

"_Aw, Gen, I know where I'm not wanted." He sniffed, then grabbed her trunks. "So get on the bus!"_

"_Thanks Stan." The exhausted witch sighed, giving him a hug. "You're a life saver."_

"_It's in the job description, Miss." Stan said assuming his formal manner once more, pulling her reduced-size trunks onto the Knight Bus, and grinning at her. "I take it we're headed towards Marci's?" _

…_End flashback…_

"…And that's when Gen came to us." Marci finished in a hushed voice. "She's been a mess ever since then."

"I AM NOT A MESS!" Gen yelled from within her fort.

"You blew your cover Gen." Lily said helpfully, hopping up under the curtains, right next to Gen. Marci giggled and jumped on top of them both. Two shrieks were heard, and Marci was given a sound pillow beating.

Celeste stood next to the bed with the curtains swaying wildly as Marci was beaten into submission, flipping through the _Desperate Housewitch _and rolling her eyes.

"You know, we were supposed to be in the main hall fifteen minutes ago, but if you guys are busy in there…" Celeste trailed off. The same two angry shrieks resounded, and Gen and Lily knocked Celeste to the ground, feathers flying everywhere. Gen and Lily screamed indignantly, as Celeste tried to shield herself from the onslaught of pillows.

Marci giggled down at them from the bed, throwing the curtains open and surreptitiously slipped the Chocolate Frog card into her pockets.

o o o o o La Scene Change o o o o o

As the image faded, someone stalked into the room angrily.

"Do you have any idea how disturbing that is?" She demanded.

o o o o o o o o o o

_Pink Power Contest: Guess who the two mystery magical individuals are! Do you know who?_

Well, I don't know if you know who was stalking them. It's a real shocker.

Well, if you like my story thus far, or want to guess please leave it in a review or email. Oh, and special thanks to my betas Muggle At Heart, The Enchanted Teakettle, Riddikulously Riddikulous, and to The Werewolf Mage for letting me mess with her characters.


End file.
